Automotive window assembly system

ABSTRACT

A retention system for an automotive window assembly includes a window insertable onto a recessed generally L-shaped peripheral flange of a flanged window aperture formed in an automotive vehicle body, with the window being adhesively secured to the peripheral flange. The window assembly also has an interior window trim member for covering the interior side of the flange and an edge of the window and an exterior window trim for covering the exterior of the flanged window aperture and an edge of the window. The system further includes a hook and loop type fabric fasteners for securing the window to the flange, for securing the interior trim to the interior side of the flange and for securing the exterior trim member to the window and the exterior body panel. One of the hook and loop fabric fasteners is adhesively bonded to the said interior trim window, window edge and exterior trim and the other of the hook and loop fabric fasteners is adhesively bonded to the interior and exterior side of the L-shaped flange and at least one of the window edge and the exterior body panel. A curable adhesive is embedded in the hook and loop fabric fasteners which, upon curing, permanently joins the hook and loop fabric fasteners together.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an automotive window retention system formotor vehicle windows which are fixed (i.e., stationary) with respect tothe vehicle body. Specifically, the invention relates to an automotivewindow retention system for mounting a window assembly onto a recessedgenerally L-shaped peripheral flange of a window aperture formed in anautomotive vehicle body which employs both hook and loop fabricfasteners and a curable adhesive embedded therein to provide a verysecure yet facile assembly of the window to the vehicle body.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Various automotive window retention systems are well known, one of whichis represented in FIG. 1 of the drawings. As shown therein, a fixedautomotive window opening normally consists of a metal interior bodypanel generally designated 10 welded to a metal exterior body panelgenerally designated 12, the latter of which has a peripherally recessedL-shaped flange, generally designated 14, peripherally extending aboutthe desired automotive window opening. Flange 14 consists of a lower leg15 perpendicular to the exterior body panel 12 and an upper leg 16abutting an upper edge section 19 of the interior body panel 10 anddisposed generally normally to the lower leg 15. Mounted on the lowerleg 15 is one or more rubber or plastic spacers 17 and mounted on theupper leg 16 is one or more rubber or plastic semispherical spacers 18which serve to properly position and space the glass window 20 in therecessed body panel opening defined by the L-shaped flange. Apolyurethane adhesive is applied into the space between the upper leg 16and the interior side of the window glass panel 20 which, upon curing,serves to permanently secure the window in the body panel opening.

An interior window trim 22 is secured to the interior side of theinterior body panel via Velcro®-type hook and loop fabric fasteningelements 23, 24, one of which is secured to the interior trim 22 and theother of which is secured to the interior side of the upper edge section19 of the interior body panel 10. An outer window trim 26 covers theouter edge of the window 20 and a portion of the exterior body panel 12and is secured to the latter via a screw 27 extending through theexterior window trim 26 and the body panel 12 properly positioned by aspacer 28.

As can be appreciated from the above description, this prior artretention system requires numerous parts and assembly steps, as a resultof which it is quite costly in terms of both actual material costs andin labor. Furthermore, so far as is known, no presently available windowretention system is available which minimizes the mounting materialsused, saves steps and time, and allows for an easy and facile mountingand retention of the window system in a manner comparable to thataccording to the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novelsystem for mounting stationary motor vehicle window assemblies onto aflange within a window aperture formed in a motor vehicle body which isrelatively simple in design, relatively inexpensive in material costsand labor, and easy and facile to use and assemble.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an entirelynew window assembly system including a spacing system, a setting stopsystem and a retention system for added outer and interior added windowtrim, which affords motor vehicle window assemblies both a mechanicaland adhesive interlock system to provide a highly effective andpermanent mounting of the window to the flanged window aperture.

It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide acombination device and adhesive joining system with multifunctionalfunctions, with direct and spin off advantageous relationships, thathave part of its design, back up systems to make the entire system"idiot proof" to apply, with fewer parts in comparison to the prior art,with greater utility values in the continuous endeavor of understandingthat adhesives are less costly than nuts and bolts, if applied in newjoining systems that work with adhesives.

Certain of the foregoing and related objects are readily attainedaccording to the present invention by the provision of a retentionsystem for an automotive window assembly of the type having a windowinsertable onto a recessed, generally L-shaped peripheral flange of aflanged window aperture formed in an automotive vehicle body, the windowbeing adhesively secured to the peripheral flange. The window assemblyalso includes an interior window trim member for covering the interiorside of the flange and an edge of the window and an exterior window trimfor covering the exterior of the flanged window aperture and an edge ofthe window. The system employs hook and loop type fabric fastening meansfor securing the window to the flange, for securing the interior trim tothe interior side of the flange and for securing the exterior trimmember to the window and exterior body panel. One of the hook and loopfabric fastening means is adhesively bonded to the interior trim windowedge and exterior trim and the other of said hook and loop fabricfastening means is joined to the interior and exterior side of theL-shaped flange and at least one of the window edge and the exteriorbody panel. Curable adhesive means is embedded in the hook and loopfabric fastening means which upon curing permanently joins the hook andloop fabric fastening means together.

Preferably, the hook and loop fabric fasteners having openings formedtherein in which the curable adhesive is received so that, upon curing,it forms a mechanical interlock therewith. Most desirably, the curableadhesive is a polyurethane adhesive. Most advantageously, the "other" ofthe hook or loop fasteners is of a one-piece construction and has an endpanel section secured thereto by a line of weakening and at least oneweb section to allow the same to be reversed and be rotated 180 degreesfor positioning against the exterior edge of the window.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects and features of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description considered in connectionwith the accompanying drawings which discloses several embodiments ofthe present invention. It is to be understood that the drawings are tobe used for the purpose of illustration only and not as a definition ofthe limits of the invention.

In the drawings, wherein similar reference numerals denote similarelements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of the window retention system of theprior art;

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view comparable to that of FIG. 1 but showingthe window retention system of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the hook fabric web employed in thepresent retention assembly;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross sectional view showing the three mainretention points provided by the present retention system; and

FIG. 5 is a view of the hook fabric web shown in FIG. 3 but showing thelower panel thereof twisted and reversed 180 degrees to modify its pointof application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now in detail to the drawings, as previously discussed, FIG. 1illustrates the prior art window retention system as heretobeforedescribed. FIGS. 2-5 illustrate the inventive window retention systemaccording to the present invention which specifically eliminates theneed for the use of screw fasteners or spacers as shown in the prior artrepresented in FIG. 1.

In particular, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a multi-folded,adhesive-backed web of Velcro® hook fabric fastening members generallydesignated 30 is received over the interior body panel 10, the L-shapedrecess peripheral flange 14 and a portion of the exterior body panel 12.Web 30 includes a generally upright first body panel 31 which isadhesively secured via its rear side to the upstanding section or leg 19of the rear interior body panel 10, a second body panel 32 disposednormally thereto, which is adhesively secured to the top edge of theupstanding legs 19, 16 of the rear body panel 10 and of the L-shapedflange 14, a third upstanding body panel 33 adhesively joined to theexterior surface of the upper leg 16 of the L-shaped flange 14, agenerally horizontally disposed fourth body panel 34 secured to theexterior of the lower leg 15 of the recessed L-shaped flange 14, and agenerally upright, but downwardly depending fifth body panel 35 which isadhesively joined to the exterior body panel 12. Each of the body panels31, 33, 34, 35 and 36 have one or more holes or apertures 36 formedtherethrough, the purpose of which will be discussed in greater detailhereinafter.

To mate with the hook fabric body panels 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 of web 30,the corresponding Velcro® loop fabric fastening elements are attached tothe other window assembly parts opposite the hook fabric body panelswhere needed. In particular, an adhesive backed Velcro® web 40 ofloop-type fastening elements is secured to the interior window trim 22to permit attachment of the latter to the interior surface of the upperleg 19 of interior body panel 10 via its mechanical interlock with hookbody panel 31. Similarly, loop fabric web 42 is folded in the form of aU and attached via its adhesive backing to the peripheral lateral andbottom edges of the window glass 20. The window glass 20 is thenpositioned in the window aperture in its desired position, and it ispressed against hook-like fastening elements of body panels 33 and 34 tomechanically lock the same in place. The outside leg of the U-shaped web42 is intended for mating with a hook-type Velcro® web 44 applied to theinterior side of exterior trim cap 26' along its top interior flange 45.Similarly, the interior lower portion of the exterior window cap 26' isattached to the lower body panel 35 via a loop web 46 adhesivelyattached to its bottom interior flange 47, thereby providing amechanical interlock with hook fabric panel 35.

Prior to the mounting as described above, a conventional polyurethaneadhesive 49 would be embedded in the hook and loop fasteners of thevarious Velcro® webs so that, upon curing, the mechanical interlockinghook and loop fasteners would be permanently embedded within theadhesive and locked in place, thereby securely retaining the windowwithin the aperture in the mounting position shown. As further shown,the exterior window cap has an upper and lower pair of angled flanges 48which also would be embedded in the urethane adhesive to furtherfacilitate interlocking of the exterior window trim 26' to the window 20and exterior body panel 12.

As schematically represented in FIG. 4, this retention system providesthree ways of locking the parts together. In the first part (arrow 1),the hook and loop fasteners 50, 51 are adhesively bonded to theirrespective window trim or body panel parts 52, 53 via an adhesivebacking and together via their mechanical interlocking. In the secondpart (arrow 2), the adhesive is embedded within the mechanical hook andloop fasteners to provide a permanent retention of the fastenerstogether. Third, as shown by arrow 3, the holes 36 in the hook and loopfastener webs allows the adhesive to pass therethrough, therebyproviding a mechanical interlock between the openings of opposing hookand loop web panels. This three-part adhesive and mechanical interlocksystem affords a retention redundancy which insures a very permanent andstable fixed mounting of the window to the flanged body panel openingwhile affording an extremely simple and labor-saving mounting technique.

Finally, FIG. 5 shows the web 30 of FIG. 3 but with the lower panel 36reversed and rotated 180 degrees via its perforated line of weakening 38such that it is only retained by a thin web 39. As a result of thisorientation, a complete U-shaped loop web 42 would not be necessary forthe window edge and, instead, an L-shaped piece (not shown) could beused for securing it to the L-shaped flange 14 via hook body panels 33,34. In this embodiment, the lower body panel 36 would then be attachedto the window edge for securing the same to the exterior window trim, asdesired, for certain applications.

Various modifications of the present invention can be made as will beapparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the hook and loopfasteners of the various web panels can, of course, be reverseddepending upon the desired application. In addition, the interior andexterior window trims can, of course, be modified to suit the particularapplication, as well. Other conventional, curable adhesives besidespolyurethane could also be employed.

Accordingly, while only several embodiments of the present invention hasbeen shown and described, it is to be understood that many changes andmodifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention as disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A retention system for an automotive windowassembly of the type having a window insertable onto a recessedgenerally L-shaped peripheral flange of a flanged window aperture formedin an automotive vehicle body, said window to be adhesively secured tosaid peripheral flange, and the window assembly including an interiorwindow trim member for covering the interior side of said flange and anedge of said window and an exterior window trim for covering theexterior of said flanged window aperture and an edge of the window, theimprovement comprising:adhesive-backed, paired hook and loop type fabricfastening means for securing said window to said flange, for securingsaid interior trim to said interior side of said flange and for securingsaid exterior trim member to said window and exterior body panel;certain of said hook and loop fabric fastening means being adhesivelybonded to said interior trim window, window edge and exterior trim andother of said hook and loop fabric fastening means being adhesivelybonded to said interior and exterior side of said L-shaped flange and atleast one of said window edge and an exterior body panel; and curableadhesive means for securing said window to said window flanged aperturein cooperation with said hook and loop fabric fastening means, saidcurable adhesive means being embedded in said hook and loop fabricfastening means and which, upon curing, permanently joins said hook andloop fabric fastening means together.
 2. The retention system accordingto claim 1, wherein said hook and loop fabric fastening means havingopenings formed therethrough, filled with said curable adhesive means sothat upon curing, said adhesive means forms a mechanical interlock withsaid fastening means.
 3. The retention system according to claim 1,wherein said curable adhesive is a polyurethane adhesive.
 4. Theretention system according to claim 1, wherein said other of said hookand loop fastening means is of one-piece construction.
 5. The retentionsystem according to claim 4, wherein said other of said hook and loopfastening means has an end panel section secured thereto by a line ofweakening and at least one web section to allow the same to be reversedand be rotated 180 degrees for positioning against the exterior edge ofthe window.